On Sunday morning, August 31st, at 7:00 AM our little Yorkie had an encounter with a rattler in our backyard and was struck on her head. We live in Desert Hills so we rushed her to Animal Health Services. It's quite a drive but closest to us for emergency weekend animal care and we had received care there for another dog last September. Also snakebit, unfortunately she didn't make it. We paid quite a lot to have her treated.
So Sunday, we rang the emergency bell, no answer, rang it again, no answer (this business advertises 24 hour care). A gentleman sitting in their waiting area came and unlocked the door for us. We sat down, worrying about how much time was passing and how it might make the difference whether our little dog would live or die. About 5 minutes later, a young lady came out and told us very apologetically that they were not going to be able to treat our dog--the gentleman's pet was the last the doctor would see before leaving. We begged her to please ask the doctor to reconsider--it was a rattlesnake bite and again she apologized and offered to give us an address for a Scottsdale facility. No explanation...nothing. So much for 24 hour service!!! So much for caring for animals. We took our little Bella to VETMED and she was treated lovingly and successfully by the staff there thank heavens. Shame on the Animal Health Services for falsely advertising 24 hour emergency service and then turning away a pet with need for immediate emergency treatment. I would NEVER recommend this center to anyone who is looking for compassionate, caring emergency treatment for their beloved sick or injured pets. I cannot even imagine what excuse the owner could offer for such an inhumane response.